Visa 2012 Annual Report Download - page 5

Table of Contents
Forward-Looking Statements:
This annual report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by the terms “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,”
“intend,” “may,” “potential,” “project,” “should,” “will,” and similar references to the future. Examples of such forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, statements we make about our earnings per share, cash flow, revenue, incentive
payments, expenses, operating margin, tax rate and capital expenditures and the growth of those items.
By their nature, forward-looking statements: (i) speak only as of the date they are made, (ii) are neither statements of
historical fact nor guarantees of future performance and (iii) are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and changes in
circumstances that are difficult to predict or quantify. Therefore, actual results could differ materially and adversely from those
forward-looking statements because of a variety of factors, including the following:
the other factors discussed in Item1A—Risk Factors . You should not place undue reliance on such statements. Unless required to
do so by law, we do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statement because of new information or future
developments or otherwise.
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•
the impact of laws, regulations and marketplace barriers, including:
• rules capping debit interchange reimbursement fees promulgated under the U.S. Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act, or the Dodd-Frank Act;
• rules under the Dodd-
Frank Act expanding issuers' and merchants' choice among debit payment networks;
•
increased regulation outside the United States and in other product categories;
•
increased government support of national payment networks outside the United States; and
•
rules about consumer privacy and data use and security;
•
developments in litigation and government enforcement, including those affecting interchange reimbursement fees, antitrust
and tax;
•
economic factors, such as:
•
an increase or spread of the current European crisis involving sovereign debt and the euro;
• the so-called “fiscal cliff” in the United States: the combination of expiring tax cuts and mandatory reductions in federal
spending at the end of 2012;
•
other global economic, political and health conditions;
• cross-
border activity and currency exchange rates; and
•
material changes in our clients' performance compared to our estimates;
• industry developments, such as competitive pressure, rapid technological developments and disintermediation from the
payments value stream;
•
system developments, such as:
•
disruption of our transaction processing systems or the inability to process transactions efficiently;
•
account data breaches or increased fraudulent or other illegal activities involving our cards; and
•
issues arising at Visa Europe, including failure to maintain interoperability between our systems;
•
costs arising if Visa Europe were to exercise its right to require us to acquire all of its outstanding stock;
•
loss of organizational effectiveness or key employees;
•
failure to integrate acquisitions successfully or to effectively develop new products and businesses; and